"Calla are you almost ready?"My younger brother, Ander, asks me.
"Yes, I'll be there in a second," I reply.
I wait until I hear his foot steps hit the landing at the bottom of the stairs and out the front door. I sigh. Even though he's only two years younger than I am, he still depends on me a lot for a 13-year-old. Maybe I just have high expectations. Either way I don't really blame him for being uneasy. Today is the reaping. Our parents use to tell us about how awful they were. To watch kids be picked and practically sent to their deaths. They were happy though because they thought that we would never have to experience them.
I look at myself in my bedroom mirror one last time. I put my long, blonde hair into a simple braid like my mother used to, and I'm wearing a blue dress to match my eyes. I make sure to hide my mothers mockingjay pin under the fabric well enough to were you can't see it. She always told me not to let the Peacekeepers see me with it because they might think of it as a sign of rebellion.
I walk down the stairs and out the front door into the fresh, spring air. Today would be a perfect day to be out in the woods or the meadow. But there are things to be done today, and no matter how many times I try to tell myself that it isn't true, it is.
"Are you scared?" Ander asks me as we walk out of Victor Village.
"Not as scared as I am curious as to what President Rainer will say," I answer. That's only partly true, but I don't want to make this situation seem worse to him then it already does.
"Oh, yeah," he says.
When we get to the square everyone else is already there. The escort of District 12, Andorra Trauffmen, rushes to the podium, her lava red wig swaying back and forth with every step.
"Welcome, welcome! Now, before we get started, President Rainer has prepared a video for the residents of the districts," she announces.
We all turn to the large screen and wait. Slowly the face of President Rainer begins to appear and speak.
"Hello citizens of Panem. I would like to inform you that this year's Hunger Games will be quite different," a small grin appears on his face as he continues. "As a reminder to the districts that they can never overcome the power of the Capitol, the children or grandchildren of previous victors or of those who had a major part in the previous rebellion, will be reaped from their districts. Those picked will show honor and courage, and bring glory to their districts. Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor."